Insee Première · June 2021 · n° 1863

Wages in the private sector: in 2019, the average net wage increased by 1.2% in constant euros

In 2019, an employee in the private sector earned on average 2,424 euros net a month per full-time equivalent. Given that prices slowed down, the average monthly net wage in constant euros accelerated in 2019: +1.2%, after +0.4% in 2018. The 2019 increase is twice as high as the annual average trend observed over the previous two decades (+0.6% each year).

Half of the employees in the private sector earned less than 1,940 euros net a month per full-time equivalent. One employee out of ten earned less than 1,319 euros net, while one out of ten made more than 3,844 euros. In 2019, wages increased a little bit more among the least paid. Wage discrepancies thus decreased slightly, breaking the upward trend of 2010-2018.

Women earned on average 16.0% less than men per full-time equivalent. This gap narrowed by 0.8 points compared to the previous year and by 4.9 points since 2008.

The wages of the employees working on the same site from January 1st, 2018 to December 31st, 2019 (encompassing slightly more than half of the employees in the private sector) increased by 3.3% in constant euros. This increase is largely due to the seniority and career advancements of this group.